BY KAREN CAMPBELL
Weakley County Schools Communications Director
WEAKLEY COUNTY (May 2) - Sunshine made for a great backdrop to a day of celebrating Weakley County Schools’ talent. From the outdoor stage offering music and theater to indoors at the Martin Event Center where the space was transformed into a pop-up art gallery, the Weakley County Schools Arts Festival on Saturday focused on spotlighting students who are a part of a growing arts community.
Beginning at 11 a.m., Dresden High School pop band ROAR took the stage with ten instrumentalists and vocalists joining director and teacher Jacob Abbott for the first of two musical sets ranging from B.B. King’s “The Thrill Is Gone” to Blink 182’s “All the Small Things.” Next up was a Westview clarinet ensemble playing Irish folk songs. Then the stage went back in time with members of the Weakley Playhouse in full costume for a scene from Romeo and Juliet. After a Westview saxophone ensemble regaled with American folk songs, ROAR returned to close out before art show winners were announced inside.
Weakley County Schools Director Randy Frazier served as the emcee for the art show ceremony. Prior to announcing the countywide winners, he praised the students’ work, also on display, which earned honorable mentions for having secured submission as school winners. He then went on to announce the following:
Photography – 3rd place
Pre-K – 2: Barnes Bragg, “A Long Day’s Work” – Martin Primary
3rd – 5th: Ivy Grace Snider, “Animal” - Gleason
6th – 8th: Carson Gibson, “A Green Landing” – Martin Middle
Photography – 2nd place
Pre-K – 2: Boone Hampton, “Sunrise” - MPS
3rd – 5th: Emmitt Bragg, “Triple B Farms” – Martin Elementary
6th – 8th: McKinley Harrison, “Life in the Ocean” - MMS
Photography – 1st place
Pre-K – 2: Caisley Smith, “Secret Lagoon” - MPS
3rd – 5th: Clark Stephens, “Bridge of the Evening” - MES
6th – 8th: Kaylynn Pearce, “Life” - MMS
9th – 12th: Amber Parker, “Guardian Angel” - Gleason
Painting – 3rd place
Pre-K – 2: Katie Edwards, “Violin” - MPS
3rd – 5th: Mariana Ivansic, “Fruit Galore” - MES
6th – 8th: Allie Rogers, “Two Ghosts in the Place of You and Me” - MMS
9th – 12th: Akeisha Chua, “Little Boy’s Balloons” - Westview
Painting – 2nd place
Pre-K – 2: Travis Bailey, “The Raven” - Gleason
3rd – 5th: Ella Murphy, “The Rainy Day” - MES
6th – 8th: Natalie Copeland, “Night Memories” - MMS
9th – 12th: Megan Totty, “Transcendentalism” - Westview
Painting – 1st place
Pre-K – 2: Greyson Stout, “Plant Attack” - MPS
3rd – 5th: Liv Killebrew, Untitled, DES
6th – 8th: Millie Kemp, “Apple in Hand” - DMS
9th – 12th: Akeisha Chua, “The World Is Cruel But I Still Love You” - Westview
3D/Mixed Media – 3rd place
Pre-K – 2: Persie Foster, “The Erupting Volcano” - Gleason
3rd – 5th: Micah Luddeke, Untitled – DES
6th – 8th: Lyric Mullins, “Gerald and Tiger” – MMS
3D/Mixed Media – 2nd place
Pre-K – 2: Kinley Trevathan, “The Camping Site” - Gleason
3rd – 5th: Jaxon Luddeke, Untitled - DES
6th – 8th: Sabrina Vieyra, “Cat Face” – DMS
3D/Mixed Media – 1st place
Pre-K – 2: Faith Nobles, Untitled - DES
3rd – 5th: Clark Stephens, “King of the Sea” – MES
6th – 8th: Sicily Kelly, “Beautiful Flower” - MMS
9th – 12th: Brandon Bonilla, “The Brandon Mug” - Greenfield
Drawing – 3rd place
Pre-K – 2: Persie Foster, “The Singing Birds and Giraffe” - Gleason
3rd – 5th: Pierson Virgin, “Cave Man” - MES
6th – 8th: Lydia Moore, “Sass” - MMS
9th – 12th: David Rivera, “Perspective” - Westview
Drawing – 2nd place
Pre-K – 2: Maisy Dodson, “Dragon Chicky” - MPS
3rd – 5th: Colton Phillips, “The Aquarium” - Gleason
6th – 8th: Allie Rogers, “Eyes Blue” - MMS
9th – 12th: Elayna Loza, “The Beauty Within” - Westview
Drawing – 1st place
Pre-K – 2: Ross Jackson, “Elephants” - MPS
3rd – 5th: Emmett Zimmerman, “The Seasons” - MES
6th – 8th: Alina Vo, “Beauty in Finding Yourself” - MMS
9th – 12th: Lexia Sawyers, “Sound of Shattered Light” - Greenfield
Before announcing the winners in the new addition to the art show – the Upcycled: Guitar as Art, Frazier noted the donation was made possible due to Weakley Arts Can and their relationship with Yamaha.
“The guitar maker provides blemished or damaged guitars to schools and organizations for them to transform into visual art. Some of our Weakley County guitar artists worked with the pieces that they were given. Others had a hard time finding what exactly might be wrong with the guitar. But either individually or in a group, they indeed made art,” he explained.
More than 30 guitars were on display using exhibit pieces crafted by area FFA members. The winners by age bands are:
Guitars – Created by one individual
Elementary School – 1st Place: Aubree Simmons, “Bridge Over Otter Water” - MES
Middle School – 1st Place: Allie Rogers, “Life by the Sea” - MMS
High School – 3rd Place: Neela Hernandez, “Ghastly Music” - Westview
2nd Place: David Rivera, “Space” - Westview
1st Place: Zanda Tipton, “Don’t Be Ashamed” - Gleason
Guitars – Created by groups
Elementary:
3rd Place: Maisy Dodson, Knox Bannon, Kylie Bratton, Caisley Smith, Maclin Moore, Boone Hampton, Drake Kirk - MPS
2nd Place: All Martin Elementary Students – “The Art of Doodling”
1st Place: Abigail Owens, Claire Essary, Carson VanMeter, Charlee Sutton - DES
Middle School:
3rd Place: Alyssa Staples, Rylee Cousins, Olivia Breeden, Aubrey Hodge, “Music of the Stars” - DMS
2nd Place: Destiny Ragan, Lily-Ana Smith, “Honey Comb Bee” - DMS
1st Place: Madison Rodgers, Keira McCoy, Sabrina Vieyra, “Japanese Dream” - DMS
High School:
3rd Place: Zowie Tipton, Serenity Minard, “Frog Verse” - Gleason
2nd Place: Garrett Garner, Hayden Smith, Samuel Thum, Chandler Finch, “The Musical Dunes” - Greenfield
1st Place: Destanie Dean, Mavree Craig, “Music Within the Walls” – DHS
Distributing the prize packages was County Mayor Jake Bynum, who announced that the first-place winners would get an extended stay in the spotlight.
“We have been watching the art show grow from year to year and this year we extended the invitation to continue to keep the first-place winners visible to the community. So, following the festival, we will be transporting the first-place winners to the Weakley County Courthouse where they will be on exhibit through the end of June. We look forward to sharing this talent with the county for the weeks ahead,” he shared.
Frazier commended the work of area teachers of the arts and festival coordinators Amber Wharton who curated the art show and Pam Sliger, who oversaw the performance stage. He called attention to the exhibit pieces and metal signage which were crafted by FFA students across the county. He also expressed appreciation to event sponsors Weakley Arts Can; the City of Martin who donated the use of the space and staff assistance from Tim Barrington, Christopher Pinto, and Duncan Hollis; Discovery Park of America; donors Sandy and Martha Edinger; and guitar maker Yamaha.
“We’ve come a long way from the first art show at the Personal Development Center back in 2020 where we only focused on visual art,” Frazier noted. “With the addition of the stage this year and the chance to utilize this beautiful facility, we are truly celebrating the arts and look forward to doing so for many years to come.”